Summary:Blackbird notifies Spider-Man of the Ravencroft jailbreak. Log Info:Storyteller: None |
Related LogsTheme SongNone |
  |
Helena and Peter have been busy lately - in no small part with each other. Building suits, going on actual dates. It's almost like they're normal teenagers or something. But it seems like that other side of their lives is rearing its ugly head again. Criminals best known for their clashes with Spider-Man have broken out of Ravencroft.
Blackbird sent a message out on the Spider Comms: Heads up, Electro, Ock, and Vulture on the loose. Meet up for details. There was a time and a place there as well - here and now.
Blackbird's taken up a stance on the edge of the roof, crouched where she can watch the city go by and see if she can spot any approaching spiders.
Peter frowned when he got the message. Electro was a freak, Vulture a thug, but Otto Octavius, I.E. Doctor Octopus…that one stung. He had provided some help on the project that had ruined his life and driven him insane. Guilt was always going to be with him.
Thirty minutes later, Blackbird can see Spider-Man swing in. The shine of the suit had not yet dulled, and he made no attempt to sneak up on her. You just don't sneak up on friends.
He landed on the roof like a guy who was getting down from his front steps instead of swinging 200 yards through the New York night. He smiled slightly as he saw her. "Hey there, Blackbird. I wish the circumstances were better. Haven't seen you since I missed Starfire at the Baxter Building."
"Hey, nice suit," Blackbird greets with a tip of her chin behind the mask as Spider-Man lands on the rooftop. "Hope you've got some electrical insulation in that. Was really glad to have mine the other day."
She straightens up, brushing herself off a bit. "I wanted to give you the whole thing in person," she admits. "Things didn't quite work out the way we would've wanted them to, but I figure those guys are more your territory than ours. And if they're gunning for anyone, it's going to be you."
Spider-Man sighs, moving closer to Blackbird, stopping about five feet away. "Thanks. Do you want my files on them? At the very least, to fill any gaps you might have in your database. Them getting out together is…odd. They are not exactly kindred spirits."
"Hey, anything you want to share, we'll take," Blackbird nods, reaching into her utility belt for a small electronic device that looks like an apple watch. Only…Well. Bat-ified. "Can just cloud it through this."
She hooks her thumbs into her belt, pacing a few steps as she thinks things through. "It looked like someone had been hired to get them out specifically. A Hammer helicopter, reported-" Air quotes. "Stolen. Some loose end bad guys for hire. And they dropped off their equipment right in the yard while causing a riot. It was targetted, for sure."
Spidey nods, but he doesn't look happy. "ALICE, share our files, please?"
A beep, and then Blackbird gets a progress bar on the device. UPLOADING, it says at the top.
"Yeah, this is sounding less and less good. That implies organization, and if they want those three…they may want more. The sixty-four million dollar question is…why?"
"Is it a sixty four million dollar question, or a seven million dollar question?" Blackbird asks, pacing a few more steps. "I mean, the only one I could think of that's still that kind of mad at you was Osborn. And on the one hand, it doesn't seem like it's enough money, but on the other hand, I feel like getting broken out of prison is also kind of priceless."
Spidey sighs. "Great. I'm sure the Young Avengers have better things to do than get roped into my super-drama."
Yes, he's sounding guilty because Kori and Blackbird and the other heavy hitters in the YA are having to spend time dealing with HIS problems.
"He's capable of anything, though. I have it on good authority his son is not handling Osborn's forced sabbatical well. Especially with the scandal of the bounty being made public in the Bugle."
"Uh, what?" Blackbird actually sounds amused when she hears the guilt. "I'm pretty sure things like this are the whole reason the Young Avengers exist, Spider-Man," she points out. "Besides, if they've got a grudge with you, then we've got a grudge with them. What kind of loser doesn't even like Spider-Man?"
She leans against an air conditioning unit, crossing her arms loosely over her chest. "I mean, there's always the chance there's someone else at play. But since you were the first target I could think of for them, I wanted to make sure you had the heads up."
Spidey sounds a little chastened. "Well…okay. Sorry. And thanks for the heads-up. I hope something in those files helps." He looks around. "Things just keep…ESCALATING. I thought I could just help some people, and these costumed crooks showing up with a mad-on for me…and Dr. Octavius…" He sighs. "Once upon a time, I knew the guy. He's…sick, really."
"Coming from someone associated with the Bats? There's plenty of crazy going around, P- compadre." That was not the best cover ever. Blackbird keeps the conversation rolling quickly. "And it does seem to have a higher incidence in those with the higher IQs. I guess they're right about the whole genius and insanity thing."
She turns back to Spider-Man, amusement coming through the voice modulator. "Better keep up with those regular mental health check-ups, Spider-Man."
Spider-Man looks to Blackbird with a startled look. He looked thoughtful. "Yeah. I used to have someone who was able to help me with that sort of trauma. I…had to deal with a lot of it, growing up."
"Yeah?" Behind her mask, Blackbird smiles faintly. "Might want to keep up with that. Part of me feels like there ought to be someone for the capes to go to for that sort of thing in general. But then again, if we were all completely mentally healthy, I'm not sure we'd choose to do this sort of thing, so."
She shrugs, shaking her head. "Anyhow. If there's anything you need or want help with, you know who to call. And don't feel guilty about it," she adds quickly. "Better asking for help than feeling worse because someone got hurt, right?"
Spider-Man looked to Blackbird.
He almost told her. *Sorry, Blackbird. I can't go to him anymore. I got him killed.*
What he did say was, "There's this one person…but I don't know if I want to dump all this ungodly garbage on her. She knows what I do, but that doesn't mean she's signed up to be my stress sponge."
"You say that, but something tells me you're a little harder on yourself than you need to be," Blackbird observes gently. "But I won't press. I know that stuff's hard. Pick people to talk to, though," she adds. "It's important. Other Young Avengers, some of the spiders. Whoever you can identify with. Because all of this is way too much for any one person to deal with alone."
Spider-Man sighs. "I'll try to find someone. But I've always been in over my head. Just different flavors. You should have seen me the first time I met the people that would become the Young Avengers. I spent the entire time dodging weapons fire and the collateral damage caused by them. No webshooters to fall back on, either." He smiles wryly under the mask. "Everyone seems to be the best at what they do, and I'm scrambling around like a one-armed paperhanger."
"Wow, seriously?" Blackbird laughs, shaking her head. "First of all, pretty sure you're the best at the whole…gadgets thing. And that's coming from someone who works with Batman, so keep that in mind. Second of all, you've got superpowers. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying I'm not jealous, but I am saying that when that riot broke out in the yard at Ravencroft and the gates were getting rough, the one thing I really wanted was some concrete webs. I'm just saying."
Spidey shrugs. "I had *a* superpower. I could stick to things. Meanwhile, someone else is blasting open containment cells." He shrugs. "Maybe I should sleep in this suit."
A slightly husky voice replies, "It would set a dangerous precedent for romantic entanglements, Spider-Man."
Spidey looked down. "Even my SUIT sasses me."
When the suit speaks up, Blackbird laughs suddenly. And even if there's a voice modulator changing the tone, there may be something slightly familiar about it. "Wow. I feel like you may have made a programming error there, Spider-Man," she teases. "And come on. You can stick to stuff. You're super strong. You're super fast. You can literally dodge bullets. I'm not convinced the brain isn't part of it," she adds. "Don't sell yourself short. You're not exactly small change"
|ROLL| Peter Parker +rolls 1d100 for: 1
|ROLL| Peter Parker +rolls 1d20 for: 7
Spider-Man looks out at the city. "Well…I guess we'll find out. Maybe I should consider a different design, maybe some kind of low-profile webshooters I can wear to bed." He sounds thoughtful. "I didn't think that would be a concern, but with how my luck's been, I should keep it in mind…"
"I don't know about sleeping in the suit. The suit's not your power," Blackbird shrugs. "But stashing a couple around the city where you can get to them if things go sideways might not be a bad idea," she suggests. "Web shooters, at least. And a mask, in case of emergency."
Spidey looks back to Blackbird. There's…something about her. He chases after the thought or idea, but it skitters away from him. Like a spider.
"Having them stashed around the city doesn't help when you get abducted by aliens, but it's not a bad thought."
"Okay, well, abducted by aliens is a level of magnitude past what I can work out solutions to," Blackbird chuckles, shaking her head. "Short of nanotech, but you'd have to talk to someone like Stark for that. Once again, orders of magnitude past what I can handle." She pushes off of her leaning spot, walking over to set a hand to his shoulder. "You're not alone, Spider-Man."
Spidey looks at her and thinks, *So why does not being alone seem like it boils down to me yelling I'M GOING INSANE AND I'M TAKING YOU WITH ME?*
"I'll try to remember that. Just make sure that you're not hearing Alice Cooper's 'Welcome to My Nightmare' when you say that." He looks around. "Listen…I have to go. I have to check on some surveillance I set up around a Maggia warehouse before the batteries run dry…"
"Sounds like a plan," Blackbird chuckles behind her mask, giving his shoulder a squeeze before she steps back again. "Thanks for meeting. Best of luck. And don't forget to call," she teases lightly, pulling a grappling gun off of her belt and starting toward the opposite corner of the building.
Spidey waves. She really looks pretty good in that outfit…
Jeez Louise, Parker, ramp it down! You HAVE a girl, remember?
Yeah. He does. And he does have feelings for Helena. And he wouldn't even LOOK at another girl, so why the Hell is Blackbird tickling feelings reserved solely for Helena?
Hormones. It had to be.
He turns around before she spots him staring and jumps off the roof, firing a webline as he does. Focus on the work. That's the ticket.